A Brighter Future
by AstralSecret
Summary: The one thing she wanted more than anything else was to make everyone's lives better. To turn despair into hope. To replace tears with a smile. But there seemed to be so little she could do in her current situation. Unless, she joins the Shane gang that is.
1. The Bleak Present

The Shane gang could barely take a break with all of Blakk's slug raids on the caverns. The current situation was an attack on Arcana Cavern. The entire gang was racing towards the place on their Mecha beasts.

"E! I got an update from Arcana!"

"What is it?"

"It's a video, I'm playing it!"

The gang had screens pop out as they rode on their Mecha Beasts. The video footage showed a young boy with brown hair and hazel eyes talking into the screen.

"This is Chase from Arcana Cavern. We need help _now_. We're trying to stop Blakk's henchmen but their ghouls are too strong! Our slingers are doing the best they can but-"

An explosion interrupted the video as the boy winced at the sound and impact. Static took over the audio. The video was cut off.

"Pronto, how long until we reach Arcana Cavern?" Their leader shouted.

"Thanks to my brilliant shortcut, an hour!"

"Good, step on it everyone!"

* * *

As they reached Arcana Cavern, the sound of blaster shots rang through the air. Blakk's goons were still terrorizing the caverns, loading the extorted slugs onto their vehicle. There were a few Arcana cavern slingers trying to put up a fight who got shut down almost immediately with a barrage of Hop Jacks.

"Get the slugs back to HQ!" A goon shouted above the rest, presumably the leader of the operation.

"Sorry but that's not going to happen!" Eli and his gang interrupted them. The Shane gang had their blasters ready while Blakk's henchmen prepared themselves for battle.

"Blast em!"

They opened fire and slugs were morphing everywhere. The group ran for cover as they strategized a method for beating Blakk's men.

"There's too many for me to get through to the slugs. Kord, Trixie?"

"We gotcha bro."

Kord fired a Dirt Urchin which released deadly spikes on their opponents, throwing most of them off. Trixie followed up by shooting Bluster to create a mini tornado to finish them off. Even so, more henchmen appeared.

"They just keep coming!" Trixie snarled as she reloaded her blaster with a Frostcrawler.

"The slugs are gonna be taken away soon if we don't do something!" Kord shouted as he saw the trucks holding the slugs just starting up.

"Not to worry! Pronto shall save the day!" The Molenoid shot his Flatulorinkus which released a cloud of stink to the goons.

"Wait!" They chorused.

Their words fell on deaf ears as he ran towards the truck of slugs either heroically or idiotically. Either way the rest of the Shane gang had to back him up. Kord and Trixie held off as many goons as possible while Eli went after the Molenoid.

Luckily, the guards stationed at the truck paid attention only to the battle crying Pronto. Eli was able to take some of them out by surprise from behind his cover of fallen rubble. He left the stragglers to Pronto and went ahead to take out the driver.

However, he was spotted and had a Grimmstone coming for him. Moving quick, Eli countered with his Armashelt. The driver started moving off as the Shane was distracted by the clash between the slug and ghoul.

"Oh, no you don't-"

Suddenly, a Phosphoro slug was fired in the middle of the crossfire, blinding the participants of the battle momentarily. Eli took the chance to fire Burpy at the driver, taking him out.

"Whoa, partying hard I see," A voice called out," Don't leave me out now."

A panther Mecha Beast stormed in with an auburn haired rider. Her wavy ponytail swayed as the Mecha settled, her dark blue eyes twinkling with a hint of mischief. Behind her, were a few other slingers on their own individual Mecha Beasts.

"Who are they?" Kord asked no one really.

"I have no idea but I think they're our allies. Whatever it is, just keep blasting those goons!" Trixie replied in a flurry, more focused on the ongoing battle.

The girl jumped off her Mecha, dodging a few morphed slugs.

"Smiley face formation! Sharpshooters stay on ground!"

"Smiley face formation?" Eli raised an eyebrow as he pulled the driver of the cart out of the vehicle.

Her team of six followed her lead, leaping off their Mechas in tandem. They organized themselves into specific positions. Three of them blasted a Hop Rock slug each at the goons leaving some of them severely injured. However, some the henchmen fired from their cover at the sides. Ghouled Rammstones were directed at the team.

"Watch out!" Trixie shouted as she aimed her blaster at the incoming ghouls, ready to shoot them. But before she could pull the trigger, another Mecha Beast came jumping out of nowhere. The rider used a Frostcrawler to freeze two of them while her Mecha Beast tackled away the last Grimmstone.

"Way to _crash_ the party," The leader winked at the short black haired girl on the Mecha that had come bursting in.

"Talk less, blast more," The girl merely said as she loaded her grey blaster and leaped off the black Antelope Mecha. Black eyes scanning the situation carefully.

"First-liners with us! Sharpshooters take out threats from the side!"

The group repositioned slightly. The two girls led the front while another two were at each of their sides. Two were covering the group from the sides with sniper like blasters, aiming at the enemies who popped out from their covers. The last two slingers were at the back, taking care of stragglers. They moved forward together.

"Anything remaining-" The auburn haired girl started.

"Is fair play." Her counterpart finished her sentence.

The mysterious team worked together flawlessly. Though, their assault wasn't only towards Blakk's goons. Kord and Trixie who were at the opposite side, faced attacks from one of their snipers.

"Looks like Blakk's goons aren't the only thing they're trying to take out," Trixie leaned her shoulder on the rubble, peeking slightly to get a gist of the situation. A Thresher just barely missing her," Whoa!"

"What do we do?" Kord said as he ducked his head down. Explosions from morphed Hop Rocks pounded on the slab of rock.

"We'll go around them and join back with Eli at the other side. No point in trying to reason with open fire!" The red head replied. With that, the two escaped into the alleys of the buildings.

The team continued with their assault. Until a ghouled Grenuker was shot in the middle of the group.

"Divide!"

They split in separate directions. The black haired girl reacted quickly, jumping to the side as she just closely missed an incoming Hop Jack. Unfortunately, she lost her balance and her grip on her blaster.

"Not so tough without your blaster now," One of the henchmen towered over her, aiming his blaster at point blank range.

"Blake!" Her partner yelled.

Just then, a morphed Rammstone knocked down the guard. Blake watched as he was knocked unconscious.

"Are you ok?"

The sudden voice jolted her. She grabbed her fallen blaster, loading it with a Tazerling and pointing it at the source of the voice in one swift movement. The dark blue haired boy held a hand out in panic, "Stop! I'm an ally!"

Adrenaline still pumping in her veins. She steadied herself enough to take a proper look at her saviour. The new Shane of Slugterra. Her frown deepened.

Scowling, she slapped his hand away," _Just fine_."

She charged back into the fray after gathering herself. Eli shrugged it off and continued on with the battle. Soon enough, all the goons were flushed out of the cavern with nothing in hand to bring back to Blakk.

"Going home already? Well, you're welcomed here anytime for a swift kick to the butt!"

"Really?"

"What? They are."

"Fine."

Blake turned to the team of slingers," Aid any casualties and assemble at town hall once you're done."

They nodded and fanned out in search for the injured.

"Hey?" Eli waved his hand unsurely at the two girls who were presumably the leaders of the team. However, their first reaction was to pull out their blasters and aim it at the Shane gang.

"Whoa! Whoa! We aren't going to hurt you!" He held his hands up in surrender.

The auburn haired girl cocked her head. She stared at him for a moment before realisation dawned on her, "Wait! You're the new Shane!"

She immediately lowered her blaster. Though, she did a double take when she saw her partner's blaster still aimed at him. Nudging her counterpart, the black haired girl gave the Shane a once-over and reluctantly holstered her blaster.

"Yeah. I'm Eli Shane. This is Pronto, Trixie and Kord," He introduced the rest of the gang who waved at the two," Someone sent us a distress call."

"Oh, so you guys were the unconfirmed enemies. My sharpshooters were informing me about a red head and a cave troll."

"Yeah, except we _weren't_ enemies." Trixie deadpanned, clearly upset at the misunderstanding.

"Whoops," She grinned sheepishly and shrugged her shoulders, "Better safe than sorry?"

Trixie flashed her an amused smile. While Kord waved a hand to dismiss the thought," Hey, no hard feelings. You guys were just trying to protect your cavern."

"I appreciate that. Thanks for all the help."

"Yeah, greatly appreciated. The exit is that way," Blake gave an insincere smile and jabbed her thumb to the end of the road.

"Blake," The other warned.

"I'm just saying. That way."

"I'm Carmen Steele. Arcana Cavern's chief. The unwelcoming girl over there is Blake. She's the unofficial vice chief-"

"There's no such thing as a vice chief."

"Well, I just declared a vice chief as a real thing. Now, shut up."

Carmen let the girl scoff before continuing," And we had another cavern to help. We didn't expect to find out that our own cavern getting raided. If it wasn't for you guys, who knows what would have happened to Arcana."

"Exitisthatway,"Blake fake coughed.

Carmen ignored it. Though, most of the Shane gang heard it clearly.

"Why don't you guys stick around? You can stay for dinner or something, it's the least we can do for you guys after you saved Arcana."

"They helped. They didn't actually _completely_ save Arcana," Blake stated.

"Helping is better than doing nothing," Carmen retorted.

This made Blake roll her onyx eyes in annoyance.

Before Carmen could say another word, Eli cut in. "Hey, thanks for the offer but we need to get back. Just to be prepared for any other attacks."

"No problem, maybe we'll see you guys again some time," Carmen nodded.

"Yeah. Come on guys," Eli gestured to them as he whistled, signalling their Mechas to come to them.

"If you need any help, just call us," He said before they rode off.

"I highly doubt we will," Blake muttered under her breath, earning another nudge from Carmen. Though, they had already rode off far enough to be unable to hear her.

"You know they really helped Arcana. Try to be a little grateful."

"I was grateful. Doesn't mean I have to like him." Blake countered.

"Well, this isn't going anywhere. But…" Carmen looked back at the ruined town,"We've got a lot of work to do."

"I'll check the emergency shelters for everyone," Blake said.

"Things are looking a bit...discouraging. We better be prepared for more attacks."

"Discouraging is an understatement."

"Try to be a little optimistic."

"I'm just being realistic."

* * *

 **Author's note: Hey! So, I actually rewrote this chapter. In all honesty, I didn't know where I was going with the introduction when I first posted the story. Now, I've got a clearer view. I'm sorry for the confusion of all the nameless slingers. I didn't want to introduce too many characters. Plus, the main OCs are Carmen and Blake. I hope you enjoyed this revised version! Please tell me if there's anything I can improve on:)**


	2. Unyielding

**Author's note: Please check out the first chapter again as it's revised! Thanks!**

* * *

The Shane gang rode their Mechas through the rocky path, taking the shortcut back to the hideout.

"Er...she was nice, "Kord said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Yeah, that girl was a ball of sunshine," Trixie rolled her eyes.

"Pronto has never been so offended in his life," The Molenoid scoffed.

"Come on guys, we helped them and stopped Blakk from getting those slugs from their cavern. It went awesome, even if there was a really cranky girl trying to get rid of us," Eli said.

"Speaking of that, why would Blakk want those slugs?" Kord mused.

"What do you mean? Isn't it typical for him by now?" Eli raised an eyebrow.

"I think what Kord means is that Arcana's known for housing lots of light elemental slugs. More specifically Fandangos. And they're not known for being dueling slugs,"Trixie explained.

Kord continued," But they do have a lot of slug energy. Which means..."

"He's building something big. And we need to find out what," Eli said with an air of finality.

* * *

Back in Arcana Cavern, the townspeople were safely back in their homes. Most were helping with the repairs of their town as well as the treatment of the injured from the aftermath of the battle.

The chief of Arcana and the unofficial vice chief were making sure everyone worked together like a well-oiled machine. They stood at one of the damaged buildings calling out to a brown haired boy who was clearing out the rubble from the hole in a building.

"Chase, how's the repairs and reconstruction going so far?" Carmen asked him.

"Pretty good," He replied, while walking down carefully from the pile of rubble.

"Good job on evacuating everyone out," Blake gave him an approving nod.

"It was no big deal plus the Shane gang distracted them enough for everyone to get out safely."

"Right," Blake frowned and walked off towards the town hall.

"And where are you going?"

"To check on the injured!"

"We just checked on them!"

"Well, I'm checking again!"

Carmen just sighed in exhaustion.

"Uh..." Questioning hazel eyes turned to Carmen for the answer.

"Don't mention them. She frowns more than she usually does when she hears their name. Long story."

"If you say so," Chase shrugged.

"By the way, were you the one who called them?"

"Yeah, the rest of us got taken down and you guys were still too far from the cavern. So, I didn't have a choice but to call them or we'd have a dead Arcana."

"Lucky you did. I have to rethink our combat strategies and give more training to our slingers. We'll need to figure out a way to counter the ghouls," Carmen folded her arms, deep in thought.

"Isn't it tough on you? You just got back from helping Dover cavern. Having to answer to every one of our allied caverns' distress call is tiring. I'm sure a little rest wouldn't hurt," Chase placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It isn't all that tough, I've got Blake to help me out. Plus, someone's gotta do this or else this cavern wouldn't be as safe as it is now," She shrugged, assuring him that she was fine.

"Well, as one of the Arc slingers I don't really like the idea of extra training," He puffed out a breath of annoyance.

Carmen gave him a constipated smile and caught him in a headlock," I'm sure you'd like it better if I made you do all the reconstruction on your own then!"

"Huh?! Wait! No! I take it back!"

Carmen laughed as she pinched one of his cheeks. The commotion didn't go unnoticed by the other civilians of Arcana. Some sighed at it like it was usual behaviour for their chief but a few glowered at her antics.

"That isn't how a chief should behave."

The comment didn't escape her ears. Carmen heard it loud and clear. But so did Chase.

"Hey-"

" _Chase_ ," The tone of her voice betrayed the smile on her face. She shrugged," Let's get back to work."

He lowered his eyes. Chase knew that look. It was a look that he and Blake grew to be familiar with when things got rough in the cavern.

 _It can't be helped. Forget it._

* * *

The advantage about having a solid team of slingers that would be dispatched the moment anything threatened Arcana was that it kept a safe cavern.

The drawback was that if they failed, people would start questioning their ability. Become anxious. Paranoid. Terrified.

Or sometimes complacent.

Blake gave a forced smile that was about to crack into a full blown scowl. She always tried her best to understand her cavern people and most of the time she could. But this was beyond her limits.

Mr. Jones, one of the civilians of Arcana was currently nagging her ear off. He was a rather aged. Now, Blake didn't like to stereotype but when it came to him she found herself thankful that she didn't know her grandparents.

"...I used to be part of the Arc as well! I know the regular procedures and drills like the back of my hand! Carmen should just stick with what her dad used to do. If she can't make better drills, she shouldn't try to act like a smart aleck and change procedures. If I know anything, her father was the most brilliant chief Arcana had!"

Blake's smile cracked. Nagging at her about Arc protocols was one thing. Implying that Carmen didn't do her job well was a whole other mess.

As much as Blake would love laying out an argument complete with case by case scenarios, she doubted he would pay attention for that long. Neither did she think her patience would last.

"Okay, hold it right there. With all due respect, Carmen is doing her best as chief. Yes, she made the wrong call but it happens. I'm sure everyone knows that Arcana always comes first. We do our best to protect everyone but we make mistakes too."

"Yeah?" He straightened, becoming more solemn. "Tell that to all the injured and the homeless thanks to the destruction caused by Blakk's men. If you could brush off every mistake with an 'it happens', it's a wonder how Arcana's not in ruins. You _can't_ afford to make mistakes. _Especially, Chief_ Carmen."

Blake forgot. Not about the perfection the Arc needed to be. But about how right Mr. Jones could be sometimes. He was a former Arc member, which meant that he knew the struggle as well.

She opened and closed her mouth a few times. Weakness flooding in. But Blake couldn't show him that she was faltering. Not her of all people. She had to be just as strong as Carmen, if not more. With a deep breath, she answered.

"I understand. There's no excuse for our misstep. We'll do something about it."

"Good," His posture relaxed. "Now, I should tell you about the old stories of the Arc. Might have some inspiration there-"

"Sorry, Mr Jones!" Chase interjected, saving the vice chief from more torment. "I'll need to borrow Blake for a second. Matters on the reconstruction. Reinforcing the structures. So on and so forth. Thank you!"

A cheery smile coupled with fast footsteps. He ushered Blake away from Mr Jones so fast that the elderly man didn't have enough time to say a word.

"You okay?" He whispered.

"Perfect. I owe you one."

"Get me a Rockberry shake and we're even."

"Done. Now, what is it?"

"All the rocks and rubble are cleared from the buildings. And I've asked for everyone to stay clear of the main path."

"So, clean up time?" Blake looked at the pathway that ran straight through the cavern which was full of large rocks and stone. Pulling out a Tormato slug, she loaded it into her grey blaster.

"Yup. Tomato," Chase held a slug barrel close to the reddish-brown coloured slug on his shoulder. It hopped in with a smile and he loaded his blaster as well.

"I've never asked but why do you call him that?"

"Tomato is one letter away from Tormato. So yeah..."

"...what?"

"I have bad naming skills okay! Can we just do the job?"

"Fair enough," Blake spared him a crooked smile. They both aimed their blasters and fired the Tormatos.

The two slugs created tornados which lifted up the rocks and debris from the ground, carrying them to the end of the path. Depositing them into a rather large metal cart with Mecha Beasts attached ready to bring them away to the dump.

"Awesome," The two slingers fist bumped, storing their blasters. Chase stared at Blake for a moment before flicking his gaze away when she turned to him.

"What?"

"Nothing," He gave her a half-hearted smile.

Blake sighed," I think I know what you're going to say. But let me just confirm, it's about Carmen."

"Yeah. Most of the people I was working with gave a few comments about her. And...you too," The brown haired boy rubbed the back of his neck guiltily," I'm sorry. I just felt like I needed to tell you...I don't think you wanted to know."

"It's okay. I want to actually. It's important what the cavern people think of us. We are the ones they have to rely on after all."

"But it's too much sometimes. You guys do your best for Arcana! It's not fair for them to act like you two aren't trying."

 _Maybe our best just isn't enough then._

Blake just gave him a good natured smile and put a hand on his shoulder," Thanks Chase."

* * *

Thoughts of inadequacy and incompetence had found a home in the corners of Blake's mind. She wondered if they found a home in Carmen as well but she decided not to think about it.

It was till late at night that Blake was kept awake by these thoughts. Especially, when the incompetence was displayed the same day.

She thought of what to do. The actions next. Sometimes, she can't help but just get pointlessly angry at the person who fueled the paranoia in Arcana. Blakk. He started this everyday battle, five years ago.

But three years ago, he made it so that Carmen had to take up the position of chief at seventeen. Blake made sure to be by her side every step of the way. As much as her fourteen year old self possibly could.

Now, they were grown up. They were expected to be seasoned enough, meaning that mistakes weren't pardoned so easily anymore.

Blake decided that staring up at her ceiling and overthinking was wasting her sleep time so she got up. With the objective of getting a glass of water, she made her way to the kitchen only to find the living room still brightly lit. The familiar auburn haired girl hunched over a tablet, elicited a sigh from Blake.

"You're still up?"

"It's only 2am."

"We have to wake up at 6am tomorrow to make our way to Lux Cavern for the meeting with their leader."

"I know."

A short silence filled the conversation before Blake ended it.

"You're working on new strategies right? You want some help?"

"You can go back to sleep. I'll handle this."

"I'm the vice chief right."

"Y-Yeah..." Carmen managed a small smile. Blake took that as a sign of acceptance and sat beside her. They surveyed the current strategies together till the lumino ores were starting to glow much brighter, indicating that morning was coming soon.

"That was productive," Carmen stretched her arms out.

"It was. So, now we have time to talk."

"About?"

"This afternoon. I know it was our mistake but-"

"It was _my_ mistake. I was the one who sent almost half of the Arc to another cavern which included myself. _The chief_. I left Arcana _defenseless_."

"Firstly, _we_ made a mistake. I may not be the chief but I'm with you every step of the way which makes me just as equally responsible. Secondly, saying you left Arcana defenseless is an exaggeration. Chase is capable enough to stand in temporarily."

"If he was so capable, then why are my slingers injured? 14 Arc slingers were injured, another 2 are _still_ unconscious and the remaining 9 which includes us are all that's left of the Arc. How well do you think we'll fair if we're attacked again?"

"It was the _first time_ we were attacked by Blakk. The first time the Arc has dealt with Ghouls. Before this, only five Arc slingers including us have faced Ghouls. How were we supposed to predict the future?! Predict that today was the day we'd get attacked?!"

"We weren't. We were supposed to keep Arcana as our top priority."

Blake kept silent. It seemed like that was all she could do today. Even as Carmen said the words, she couldn't bear to hear.

"What would Dad say?" Carmen placed a hand to her mouth, as if trying to muffle a sob. But she was much too strong to shed a tear. At least that's what Blake thought.

They were interrupted by the incessant beeping of their communicators. A quick look at it told them everything. Carmen looked at Blake who had her eyes wide in alarm.

"A distress call from Lux Cavern."

* * *

 **Author's note: Hey! Hope you enjoyed the story. Please tell me if there's anything I can improve on.** **I intend this to be serious but I'll try my best to add a little humor. This downward spiral is kind of depressing...**

 **Lastly, thank you to the people who favourited and followed:) I appreciate it a lot!**


	3. Fading Hope

The pounding of Mecha Beasts feet on the ground early in the morning should be fairly normal.

Too bad it wasn't as normal as people could hope for.

A black Antelope Mecha was leading the pack consisting of a horse, cheetah and wildebeest Mechas.

"Stop," Blake halted her Mecha and the others followed. She pulled out her tablet, calling Lux Cavern's leader. A dark haired man answered the call, his dim surroundings filled with people.

"Everyone evacuated?"

"Not exactly..."

"How many?"

"Just-"

A dark skinned woman with black hair entered the screen, pushing away the cavern's leader. Shouting frantically, "Please help me find my daughter! Her name's Reifa, brown hair and black eyes. She's only seven years old-"

"Ms Mylis! Calm down!" The leader tried settling the panicked woman down, the view on Blake's tablet becoming nothing more than blurry images.

"Ma'am, you can rely on us." Blake said,"We'll take care of it."

"Thank you!"

"Thanks, Blake. We owe you."

With that, the call ended.

"So who's stuck with rescue duty?"

"Watch it Gerald," Blake warned the blond on his Wildebeest Mecha.

"Sorry," He shrugged, averting his green eyes.

"As you've heard, there's a civilian still in the cavern. Her name is Reifa. She's a seven year old girl with black eyes and brown hair. Chase?"

"No elaboration needed. I know what I have to do."

"You need backup?"

"I'll be fine. Just cover me through the main road. Then I'll use the alleys and smaller roads to get around."

"Good. Mika," Blake turned to the red haired girl on the cheetah Mechabeast," You find higher ground and support us from there. I've sent you the ideal locations to disrupt our enemies."

Mika replied with a nod and prepared her sniper-like blaster which was almost half her size. The vice chief then faced the remaining slinger in the team.

"Gerald, we go into battle and cover Chase. We're front lines so get ready for some heavy hitters."

"So, what you mean is that we're just charging in and we should try not to get wasted?"

"Exactly."

"Got it," He gave her a half-hearted thumbs up.

"Headsets in check?"

"Check."

"We move in now," Blake jerked her chin towards the cavern.

Blake cleared her head from anymore thoughts. She took in a deep breath and looked at the small explosions that erupted throughout the cavern.

"Team Alpha, go!" She accelerated her Mecha Beast. The others followed in suit, with Mika diverging towards a higher landscape.

As soon as they went into the entrance of the town, they were bombarded with slugfire. Blake weaved her Mecha deftly through the assault, carefully noting the carriage at the side.

 _Bingo._

She aimed her grey and blue blaster at the Mecha towing the carriage and pulled the trigger. The sparked tail of the Grenuke slug ran out and an explosion burst forth.

"Alpha 2 to Alpha 5, secure the slugs." Blake spoke into her headset.

"Understood," Mika responded from her location on the roofs. The redhead scanned the area, which consisted of henchmen who were trying to unload the slug containers from the carriage and drag casualties away from the explosion site.

She shot a Thresher to disconnect the flaming Mecha Beast from the carriage. It threw the nearby goons off guard. She quickly shot her Speedstinger, Re, to knock out three of them in one trick shot.

After her slug returned, she shot a Hoverbug into the air. It grabbed her off the roof and flung her onto ground level. A couple of goons were heading towards her but she shot a Sand Angler which left them stuck in quicksand.

With a whistle, her red Cheetah Mechabeast ran towards her. She hastily shot an Aquabeek to put out any leftover flames on the ghouled Mechabeast to ensure another explosion didn't happen while she towed away the slugs.

She attached her own Mecha to the carriage and set off before any other henchmen had the chance to get within shooting range.

Mika pulled out the digital map on her Mechabeast and frowned.

"Alpha 5 to everyone, I need to make a detour to drop the slugs somewhere safe."

"Copy that."

* * *

The three fired consecutive shots. A Phosphoro, a Jellyish and a Vinedrill.

It blinded the goons which temporarily stopped ghoulfire, then fixed their legs to the ground with sticky goo and finally a Vinedrill's sleep pollen for extra measure.

The combo put a break in the goons' defenses, albeit a small one as more were coming.

"I'm going!" Chase shouted over the chaos.

"Got it!"

Blake made sure that any ghouls heading for him were neutralized. Once Chase was in the clear, Gerald nodded to her and they both jumped off their Mecha Beasts.

The two were best at a combination of slug-slinging and hand to hand combat. The Mecha Beasts would be best for speed but what they needed to do now was to make sure these goons were down for the count. Plus, they didn't have an unlimited supply of slugs.

"I feel like we've been getting paired up way too often," Blake said, dodging a Harmashelt's attack.

"Must be fate," The blond smirked.

"Gross." Blake spat and lunged for one of them.

She disarmed him and landed a solid uppercut on his jaw. Another goon was about to use her opening to shoot but her other hand was already pulling the trigger. The Arachnet shot a web which enveloped his body, rendering him immobile.

Gerald was across from her and took most of them out using his close combat skills. He had faster reflexes and was strong enough to knock a fully grown adult out with a single punch, despite his lean stature.

"Using steel knuckle protectors do help a lot huh?"

"It's convenient. Plus, it's not like they play fair either."

Three goons shot various attack ghouls at him, to which he dodged effortlessly.

"See what I mean?"

Blake rolled her eyes and focused on eliminating her side of the henchmen. There was a good number of Blakk's men down.

Take out these bunch and they should have the ratio of goon to Team Alpha at 1:3. Probably. Hopefully.

A Grimmstone grazed her face as it flew past her. Her eyes widened as she saw Gerald in its line of fire.

 _Too distracted._

"Gerald!"

A speedstinger came out of nowhere to deflect the ghoul. They both looked up to see Mika on the roofs. In her sniper's position, she gave them a thumbs up.

"Kudos to Mika." Gerald smirked, genuinely impressed.

Another three goons were shot down by a single speedstinger. Blake glanced over and nodded.

"Kudos indeed."

* * *

"Wait!" Chase spotted the girl running into a narrow alley. She squeezed through a small hole between the metal pipes. He jumped off his Mecha and looked through the pipes. She was running into another corner.

"Seriously!?" He ran toward the left, finding another point of entry.

"There better not be any goons here-"

A Frostfang barely missed him. He looked back to see two goons in pursuit.

"I should have shut up."

Chase shot a Polero which wrapped itself around their legs, making them trip.

"Strike!"

He continued until he found a smaller road and called out," I'm not going to hurt you!"

No answer. But no goons either.

"I don't know if I'm pronouncing your name right but Reifa!"

There was a clatter of rubbish cans in a corner. The brown haired girl stood up abruptly, knowing her location was given away.

"Wait!"

Without any hesitation, she took off. He ran after her but she squeezed through another hole.

"Oh, come on! Second time!" He looked through the small hole and saw that she was headed straight for the main road, where the fight was going on.

He shook his head and spoke into his headset," Alpha 4 to everyone, the girl is about to run into the battlefield. I won't make it to her in time. She's coming in from a left alley."

A reply came, "I see her. Intercepting n-Ah!"

"Alpha 5, come in! Mika!"

"You've got to be kidding me," Blake hissed.

"In a fight, even I wouldn't kid. Occasionally though," Gerald replied.

"Watch the left side. She might come in at any moment."

"You get her and I'll cover?"

"Yeah," Blake nodded.

A cry rang out. Even above the sound of slugshots, Blake heard it clearly. She turned to an alley where the girl was paralyzed in fear after looking at the battlefield.

Casualties, belonging to the enemies' side were strewn across the ground. Fire and destruction everywhere. For a little girl, such a sight must have overwhelmed her.

A stray Hop Jack hit the building next to her. Its roof crumbled, she still stood rooted to the ground. The rubble was aimed straight for the girl. Her eyes met Blake's. The only thing Blake saw was fear and panic in those dark eyes.

It was like everything was frozen for a while. The sound of slugfire filled Blake's ears and visions of what may happen ran through her head.

 _No. No. No. No! NO!_

Blake leaped forward, pushing the girl out of way. She braced for the impact of but it never came. Instead, she and the girl were surrounded by pink.

Well, a morphed Bubbaleone to be precise.

It popped and the two landed safely on the ground, away from the rubble. Blake turned to see her rescuer. Her eyes fell to half-mast.

"Not you again."

* * *

 **Author's note: Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update! Thanks to everyone who followed and favorited! I really appreciate it and if there's anything I can improve on, please let me know! Hope you enjoyed my story :)**


	4. Spark

Everyone cheered at the Shane gang's victory. All of Blakk's men were chased out of the cavern. The appearance of the Shane gang helped guarantee victory for Team Alpha. But it was mostly because, three quarter of the henchmen were already taken out.

The civilians were brought out of the underground shelters and were able to return to the safety of their homes. Whatever was left of it that is.

Though, they were all more eager to greet the Shane gang. It was the first time Lux was graced with their presence after all.

Blake looked at the crowd of people surrounding the Shane gang. The Shane himself looked unaccustomed to the cheers as he waved awkwardly at them.

But what stood out the most to Blake was only one thing. Genuine happiness and relief in the cavern people.

It wasn't something that they were able to bring out of the people. No matter how hard they worked. A Shane would always be a light of hope for the people. No other hero could compare to that.

Her beeping communicator snapped her out of her thoughts. She pulled out the tablet, "Report?"

"No one requires immediate medical attention and I've asked all casualties to gather at town hall for treatment," Chase answered her.

"Estimation of casualties?"

"20 to 30. I've already called for the first aiders. They're on their way, most likely half an hour's travel time."

"I'll leave it to you then."

"Understood."

Blake looked up at her other two team members seated on the rubble,"How's your injury?"

Mika looked up from Gerald bandaging her upper arm,"Stings a little. But better I guess."

"You sure you don't want Chase to look at that cut?"

"It's nothing that serious. The Thrasher just lightly um-"

"Shredded your skin?" Gerald interrupted as he finished bandaging the injury.

" _Cut_ my skin. It's not even that deep. I'm fine," Mika retorted, pulling at her side plait.

"Can you still hold your blaster properly?" Blake asked firmly.

"Y-yes!"

"Show me."

Mika swallowed. She reached for her red and grey blaster which was lying beside her. Slowly, she placed her left hand under the slug barrel and the other hand at the trigger. Her injured arm had to be bent slightly due to her using a sniper. It gave the injury some pain but she grit her teeth, tolerating it.

"See?"

"Oh look. Blood," Gerald pointed at her right arm.

"What?!"

"Just kidding."

"Gerald!"

"You're good," Blake sighed," Just don't push yourself."

"I know," Mika nodded guiltily.

Blake looked away from the pair and spotted Chief Ameer, the leader of Lux Cavern headed her way. The well-built man waved at her, "Great work Blake!"

"Thanks-"

But before Blake could manage another word, the leader of Lux passed right by her. With quick strides, he was at the Shane gang's side. Her eyes widened but then fell to half-mast.

"Well then."

Blake looked at both her comrades. Mika had her mouth slightly open while Gerald was holding in his laughter.

"Don't even," She warned.

"Aw, it's okay. I still love you," Gerald neared her and slung his arm around Blake's neck.

"That's nice but..." She turned to him so that their faces were inches away from each other," I'd rather shove a Toxis slug down your throat."

"For you, I'd swallow it voluntarily." He placed a hand on his chest and winked at her. This resulted in a roll of her eyes but a small quirk of her lips.

"Chief Ameer's probably just excited since it's the first time he's seen them in person."

"Keep telling yourself that."

"Gladly," Blake said making Gerald chuckle.

"So...do we just wait here while they talk?" Mika piped up.

"Yes," Their leader replied simply.

"Okay...we aren't going to listen in or anything? Might be important right?"

"That's _not_ our concern. Our priority is Arcana and making sure our allies are satisfied with the alliance."

"Right," The sniper's shoulders slumped.

"Okay, no seriousness while you guys are gifted with my presence. Plus, the Lame gang aren't all that hot."

Blake muffled a laugh, disguising it with a cough. On the other hand, Mika scoffed at him. "They only save Slugterra like half the time. They get _ten_ times more distress calls that we do! They're heroes!"

"Why Miss Cerise! Fans of them are we? I think I remember you gushing over Eli Shane."

"I was not! I was _talking_ about his heroic acts. Talking. Not gushing, not ever."

"Yeah, he's not really your type. The Molenoid though..."

"Ew! Gerald!"

Blake just watched their exchange with an amused smile. Now that the battle was over, their real personalities were seeping through their solemn fronts. But her attention was drawn away by a makeshift helmet rolling towards her feet.

She raised an eyebrow, picking it up and scanning the place to find where it came from. Her eyes were met with a young boy sitting by the steps of one of the houses. He jerked his eyes away. Even so, Blake approached him.

"Is this yours...?"

"I don't want it."

"Why not?"

"Because I just don't okay," He snapped.

"So, I'll just toss this in the trash?"

For a split second he looked at the painted red helmet with a sad look, then it changed into frustration, "Go ahead. I'm no hero anyway."

Blake crouched down to his level, putting the helmet in between her chest and knees.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I can't do anything to stop Doctor Blakk! I can't even protect my own sister from him! I'm...not a hero. So I should stop pretending that I am."

"Your sister...? Reifa?"

"I was supposed to be keeping watch of her but there were so many people. I got so scared and I just-" He pulled his hair in frustration, rumpling the tufts of black. "Ran."

Blake winced. He was just a boy. Didn't look more than 10 years old. She pulled his hands away and held them tightly.

"You can't do anything."

It was demoralizing but the fire in her eyes assured him otherwise.

"But that doesn't mean you can't try to. If you quit now, then how are you going to be a hero when you grow up?"

"But we need to stop him now! And I'm just a kid now! What can I do?!"

"Finding the courage to stay by your sister's side when she needs you is a good start. It's _okay_ to be scared. I'm scared all the time. But, you need to remind yourself of what's more important than being scared."

He tightened his fists in her hands. Blake watched him squeeze his eyes shut in frustration. The pain of not having the strength was something she could very well relate to.

"Take it one step at a time. As long as you hold on to what's important and keep moving forward, it'll be fine. Trust me, I know."

"Okay..." He visibly relaxed and nodded in acceptance.

"Don't ever stop dreaming. Someday, you _will_ be a hero."

She held his helmet out to him. Her eyes meeting his with full seriousness.

He stared at it momentarily, before reaching out,"You really think so?"

"Nah, you could be a plumber too."

His eyes fell to half-mast," What?"

"Okay, okay. Yes, I do believe that you can be a hero."

"You're weird," He laughed and took the helmet from her hands. A sense of pride filled her chest as she watched him gently.

"Remember to protect what's important to you."

"I promise I'll protect Reifa and my family."

"Don't promise me. Promise them," Blake smiled as she ruffled his hair,"You'll be a great hero."

The door to the house opened. A middle-aged woman was standing there with her mouth open. But, her shocked expression quickly turned to joy.

"It's you!"

Blake blinked in surprise, then recognition set in.

"Oh, you're-"

"Thank you!" She embraced a startled Blake. The shock soon melted into a smile. Though, it was short-lived as Blake started choking up a little because of the woman's vice-like grip.

"Mum! You're choking her!"

"Oh, sorry!"

"Ms Mylis right?"

"Yes, but you can call me Liana. Riaz, what were you two talking about?"

"Uh! A-About heroes!" He stuttered.

Liana giggled," He loves playing heroes. I hope he didn't bother you too much."

"It's not a problem. I think your son will be a great hero," Blake winked at him. He replied with a grin.

"Um, is your daughter alright?"

"A few bruises. But she'll be fine, thankfully."

"I'm glad," Blake smiled.

It wasn't that often that she received appreciation. But Blake never asked for it either. She only wanted to make people feel safe, to make sure that their aspirations and hopes were still kept alive. But, it gave her a warm feeling in her chest to which she was grateful for.

Fighting was one thing but speaking to them, made her feel like she actually made a difference. It made her believe that Blakk had failed. That he didn't succeed in bringing fear to them because they were still smiling. Even with their troubles. Even with their half damaged homes. And she would allow herself to believe that she was able to contribute just a little to their happiness even if it was vain to do so.

 _Maybe other heroes can compare._

"Blake!"

She turned to see her team with Chief Ameer and the Shane gang. Distress written across their features. Her lips settled into a straight line.

 _Back to business._

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Hey! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! It was more of a filler chapter but I just wanted to expand a little on Blake's character. Thank you to all the people who favourited and followed! Please tell me if there's anything I can improve on:)**

 **By the way, I'll probably post the next chapter in a month's time, but that's just an estimation! Sorry, it's my final year! Hopefully, I can clear things quickly.**


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